Despite the war being waged against us in the name of Islam, and the lack of an actual plan to fund Syrian refugees, we have to ask progressives: “Please, Sir, may I have some… rationality?”

Just like Dickens’ Oliver Twist, the United States is constantly asking for “More, please.” Such as more borrowed money from countries that don’t like us, like China.

Given our nearly $19 trillion national debt and growing national weakness, it is sensible to avoid returning as supplicants to any nation that is increasingly adversarial toward us. That goes entirely against the tea party values of fiscal responsibility and national security.

“Please, Sir, just another trillion dollars or two… we are hungry for more money to spend on programs we can’t afford.”

Such as the Refugee Resettlement Program adored by progressives like our own Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The Syrian refugee resettlement program is opposed by Redlands conservatives and across the nation because of the outrageous expense and the danger of the jihadi infiltration.

According to Amnesty International the following very rich Arab countries refuse to take any Syrian refugees: Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. What do they know that Sen. Feinstein doesn’t?

According to the State Department, ”…the United States accepts over half of all refugees, more than all other resettlement countries combined.” Last year we took in about 70,000 refugees, yet Feinstein petitioned President Obama to bring in over 30,000 Syrian refugees.

Can we afford to support them financially without having to go even further in debt? Of course not. Can we afford to ignore jihadi threats? Absolutely not.

How does the Refugee Resettlement Program function? The State Department yields to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees who determines who is a refugee. The State Department has cooperative agreements with nine domestic resettlement agencies. Two of the largest are the Catholic Charities and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services.

Upon arrival here the refugees are taken to their apartment, which has basic furnishings, appliances, climate-appropriate clothing and food typical of the refugee’s culture.

They are assisted in applying for a Social Security card, registering children in school, learning how to access shopping facilities, arranging medical appointments, and connecting refugees with needed social or language services.

The Department of State’s Reception and Placement program supplies resettlement agencies a one-time sum per refugee to assist with meeting expenses during a refugee’s first few months.

In addition to all that financial assistance, refugees are eligible for at least 15 federal programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, food stamps, public housing, and Social Security Disability Insurance. Many of the federal programs offer life-time benefits, such as Medicaid and Disability. After about four months of support from the resettlement agencies, refugees become the problem of local communities.

According to The Red-Green Axis, after five years in the United States, over 50 percent of refugees are still using Medicaid, nearly 75 percent are still on food stamps, and almost half of them are still receiving cash assistance.

The Heritage Foundation estimates the total lifetime cost of government benefits at $6.5 billion per 10,000 refugees, or about $650,000 per person.

Obviously no average American receives that level of benefits from their tax burden.

And the ultimate cost may certainly involve more than just money — it may demand our blood as well. ISIS brags that they have infiltrated the “Syrian” migration with trained jihadists who vow to kill infidels like Christian Americans. If you think that’s unlikely, consider the UC-Merced student, a Muslim, who just this week stabbed four people and was praised for his behavior on an ISIS-linked Twitter.

Yet a few weeks ago, Mohammad M. Hossain, of the Islamic Center of Redlands, told the Redlands Daily Facts that “refugees are homeless and have nothing, so everybody has a duty to help them — that they would be grateful and not commit violence.” (“Islamic community responds to concerns over Syrian refugees in Redlands,” Oct. 14) Perhaps Mr. Hossain is not aware of the fact that the Boston Bombers were Muslim refugees. Incidentally, there is no Muslim organization among the nine resettlement agencies.

Despite the war being waged against us in the name of Islam, and the lack of an actual plan to fund Syrian refugees, we have to ask progressives: “Please, Sir, may I have some… rationality?”

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